Scan barcode
A review by aoc
The Ruby Throne by Julien Blondel
4.0
In a sense reading The Ruby Throne was treading familiar grounds for me seeing as it's actually an adaptation of the existing story and a rather faithful one at that with some artistic freedom here and there. One thing of note is Moorcock's opening commentary where he actually welcomes the changes citing he would've most likely written the origin story by employing some of them. So let's get down to it.
If you don't know who Elric of Melnibone is, well, I'm not really going to give you an extensive primer but let's just say he's a beloved character penned by Michael Moorcock that somehow never achieved prominence in wider fantasy circles. Unjustly so, I would point out considering he's not only an interesting character but also meant to be an anti-thesis to fantasy heroes popular in the '60s or so when it was all about buff dudes clubbing things to death and saving damsels. Elric, on the other hand, is a weak blooded albino emperor of an island nation that ruled for ten thousand years before falling into decadence and obscurity from the world. When I say “weak blooded” I'm referring to his physical prowess considering he's an incredibly powerful sorcerer as well as summoner deriving his power not only from natural talents but also from pacts with Lords of Chaos that emperors of Melnibone have held pacts with since basically forever. Just to put things into perspective Elric is 428th emperor so that's quite a line of succession and takeovers.
Why am I telling you all of this? Because The Ruby Throne is our protagonist's origin story presented in graphical novel format... in proper chronological order this time, unlike with novels where it took a while for author to actually explain Elric's story and advance him from “mysterious wanderer with a curse”. We see that people of Melnibone are decadent as all hell and see themselves superior to other nations, Younger Kingdoms as they call them, while Elric himself is having doubts about their very nature and mindset. He's not exactly what an ideal emperor of such people should be and his cousin Yyrkoon is far from impressed which sets him on a path to do something about it which kicks off events of the story proper. Sadly, The Ruby Throne is merely the first part of the origin and you'll have to check out Stormbringer to see where the moniker comes from and how Elric ends up becoming an adventurer that opens him up to even more stories.
Seeing as this is a graphical novel it's only fair I say something about the artwork, right? If you glance at some of the pages it becomes obvious this entire production and package are absolutely GORGEOUS. I'm talking cover art worthy here and it persists. Particular thing of note is the outstanding lining and shading derived therefrom. There is nary a flat surface in sight and shortcuts were definitely not taken. After all, we are talking about proficient artists the likes of Poli and Recht here. I also liked how writing and art worked in tandem to not really sugarcoat the Melnibonese culture in any way and you see it all – gore, nudity and acts that would put Elric in dubious camp, but they're just part of what he has to do keep his health up. Writing in particular, while obviously simplified for the sake of the medium and flow, does a solid job at hitting the notes from the books. I can't say for certain considering novel was translated from french but I'm almost willing to bet some lines taken directly from the novels. Don't quote me on that, though. If I had one negative in this department it would be wishing they were more liberal with layouts and flow. Neither is bad in the first place, but paneling doesn't have to be as strict, doubly so because they demonstrated they're willing and able to free it up a bit here and there.
Would I recommend The Ruby Throne? If my gushing over it hasn't been clear enough the answer is yes. Sure, it ends on a cliffhanger, but Stormbringer is already out and available so you can jump on it immediately after finishing this one. There's little I can really add that I haven't already rambled on about – art is extraordinary, there's no preaching you'd expect from some comics these days and it stays true to Elric while embellishing here and there where necessary. In a sense, it treats the source material with respect and care it deserves and that's a major plus for me.
If you don't know who Elric of Melnibone is, well, I'm not really going to give you an extensive primer but let's just say he's a beloved character penned by Michael Moorcock that somehow never achieved prominence in wider fantasy circles. Unjustly so, I would point out considering he's not only an interesting character but also meant to be an anti-thesis to fantasy heroes popular in the '60s or so when it was all about buff dudes clubbing things to death and saving damsels. Elric, on the other hand, is a weak blooded albino emperor of an island nation that ruled for ten thousand years before falling into decadence and obscurity from the world. When I say “weak blooded” I'm referring to his physical prowess considering he's an incredibly powerful sorcerer as well as summoner deriving his power not only from natural talents but also from pacts with Lords of Chaos that emperors of Melnibone have held pacts with since basically forever. Just to put things into perspective Elric is 428th emperor so that's quite a line of succession and takeovers.
Why am I telling you all of this? Because The Ruby Throne is our protagonist's origin story presented in graphical novel format... in proper chronological order this time, unlike with novels where it took a while for author to actually explain Elric's story and advance him from “mysterious wanderer with a curse”. We see that people of Melnibone are decadent as all hell and see themselves superior to other nations, Younger Kingdoms as they call them, while Elric himself is having doubts about their very nature and mindset. He's not exactly what an ideal emperor of such people should be and his cousin Yyrkoon is far from impressed which sets him on a path to do something about it which kicks off events of the story proper. Sadly, The Ruby Throne is merely the first part of the origin and you'll have to check out Stormbringer to see where the moniker comes from and how Elric ends up becoming an adventurer that opens him up to even more stories.
Seeing as this is a graphical novel it's only fair I say something about the artwork, right? If you glance at some of the pages it becomes obvious this entire production and package are absolutely GORGEOUS. I'm talking cover art worthy here and it persists. Particular thing of note is the outstanding lining and shading derived therefrom. There is nary a flat surface in sight and shortcuts were definitely not taken. After all, we are talking about proficient artists the likes of Poli and Recht here. I also liked how writing and art worked in tandem to not really sugarcoat the Melnibonese culture in any way and you see it all – gore, nudity and acts that would put Elric in dubious camp, but they're just part of what he has to do keep his health up. Writing in particular, while obviously simplified for the sake of the medium and flow, does a solid job at hitting the notes from the books. I can't say for certain considering novel was translated from french but I'm almost willing to bet some lines taken directly from the novels. Don't quote me on that, though. If I had one negative in this department it would be wishing they were more liberal with layouts and flow. Neither is bad in the first place, but paneling doesn't have to be as strict, doubly so because they demonstrated they're willing and able to free it up a bit here and there.
Would I recommend The Ruby Throne? If my gushing over it hasn't been clear enough the answer is yes. Sure, it ends on a cliffhanger, but Stormbringer is already out and available so you can jump on it immediately after finishing this one. There's little I can really add that I haven't already rambled on about – art is extraordinary, there's no preaching you'd expect from some comics these days and it stays true to Elric while embellishing here and there where necessary. In a sense, it treats the source material with respect and care it deserves and that's a major plus for me.